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Recreational Mathematics

While I was working on my master's thesis in 2011, I often found it difficult to explain to my family and friends what I was actually writing about. This was why I started thinking about mathematical riddles that would make the topic of restricted permutations accessible to a broader public. The result was called MOUNTAINOUS PATTERNS and is a playful introduction to pattern avoidance with the help of about 50 riddles.

Cover of the booklet Part of the rules Hirschenkogel

Now, in 2016, after having finished my PhD, the times of my master's studies seem far away. The interest for permutation patterns is, however, still as fresh as when I first got it contact with this topic. A substantial part of my research so far was devoted to enumerative and computational aspects of permutation patterns and I am fascinated by the wealth of differently flavoured results that this field has produced in recent years. Boosted by several positive reactions of friends and colleagues who had found the electronic version on my webpage, I decided to pick up MOUNTAINOUS PATTERNS again. I slightly revised the first edition, got rid of a couple of small mistakes (there are probably still some hiding! - do let me know if you find any) and decided to actually publish this booklet.

The booklet can be bought directly through the self-publishing platform epubli and on amazon. If you don't need a printed copy, you can find the electronic version here. Have lots of fun with it!